Fears of new attack as Osama reclaims front line of global jihad: report

Osama bin Laden claimed responsibility yesterday for the failed Christmas Day aircraft bombing above Detroit and vowed further attacks on American citizens.
In a minute-long audiotape purportedly made by the al-Qaeda leader, bin Laden raised fears that a follow-up attack was already in the works.
The taped message, from Osama to Obama, was broadcast on al-Jazeera television as new details emerged of the botched Christmas Day attempt by the underwear bomber Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, which has already been claimed by al-Qaedas affiliate on the Arabian peninsula.
US officials said that Mr Abdulmutallab, a former University College London student who tried to set off explosives sewn into his underpants, falsely warned the police after he was arrested that there was a second bomb on board the Northwest Airlines aircraft.
Bin Laden portrayed the Christmas Day bomb plot as a continuation of al-Qaedas strategy after the 9/11 terror attacks. However, experts voiced scepticism that the al-Qaeda chief was involved.
The message sent to you with the attempt by the hero, Nigerian Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, is a confirmation of our previous message conveyed by the heroes of September 11, bin Laden said. If it was possible to carry our messages to you by words, we wouldnt have carried them to you by planes.
The al-Qaeda leader said that US support for Israel justified attacks. It is not fair that Americans should live in peace as long as our brothers in Gaza live in the worst conditions, he said.
IntelCenter, a US group that monitors Islamist websites, said that the tape was a possible indicator of an upcoming attack in the next 12 months. The group said that the message contained specific language that bin Laden had used before earlier attacks.
This phrase 'Peace be upon those who follow guidance appears at the beginning and end of messages released in advance of attacks that are designed to provide warning to alQaedas enemies that they need to change their ways or they will be attacked, a statement by IntelCenter said. It said that similar language attributed to bin Laden was made in a condemnation of cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad on March 19, 2008. This was followed by an attack on the Danish Embassy in Islamabad on June 2, 2008.
The phrase also appeared in bin Ladens offer of a truce to European nations on April 15, 2004, which was followed by al-Qaeda attacks in London in July 2005 a delay that IntelCenter attributed to the difficulty of executing the strikes.
The White House said that it was unable to authenticate the tape. Al-Jazeera said that it believed it was recorded last month. Robert Gibbs, the White House spokesman, told Fox News: Everybody in this world understands that this is somebody that has to pop up in our lives over an audio tape because hes nothing but a cowardly murderous thug and terrorist that will some day, hopefully soon, be brought to justice.
A senior US intelligence official said that there was no evidence that bin Laden had any involvement in the Christmas Day attack or even knew about it beforehand. The message suggests the al-Qaeda leader wants to appear in direct command of the terrorist groups many affiliates around the world at a time when some analysts have suggested he is mostly a figurehead.
Rohan Gunaratna, the author of Inside Al Qaeda: Global Network of Terror, said that bin Laden was trying to assert his leadership role. The training and the definition of the attack was by the local leaders of al-Qaeda in the Arabian peninsula so, in many ways, you can say bin Laden is exploiting for his benefit this particular attack, he said. Bin Laden still wants to claim leadership for the global jihad movement.
US officials said that Mr Abdulmutallab spoke openly for hours to American customs officers, medical personnel and FBI agents after he was arrested and treated for burns.
However, he went silent after he was read his legal rights about ten hours after he was taken into custody.
His decision to clam up has fuelled debate about whether accused terrorists should be tried in civilian courts or before military tribunals, where they have fewer rights.
The tapes
There have been 31 credible tapes since 9/11. Only seven have been videos. The most recent video was in September 2007
October 2001 In an audiotape, he says: America has been hit by God at its most vulnerable point, destroying, praise God, its most prestigious buildings
December 2001 US troops find a video in a house in Jalalabad, Afghanistan, which appears to prove his involvement. On the tape he is heard to say: We calculated in advance the number of casualties from the enemy who would be killed, based on the position of the tower
September 2002 He again praises the hijackers in an audiotape: When we evoke the raids on New York and Washington, we speak of the men who changed the course of history and cleansed the ... filth of treacherous rulers
October 2003 He names Britain and other European countries involved in Iraq as targets. On an audiotape he says: We will go on fighting you, and we will carry on martyrdom operations. We reserve the right to retaliate ... against all countries that take part in this unjust war
October 2004 On the eve of the US election he tells Americans in a video that President Bush is still misleading you
March 2008 He denounces cartoons portraying the Prophet, warning Europe of a reckoning
January 2009 He warns President-elect Obama of new fronts, and calls for jihad to end Israels onslaught on Gaza
September 2009 He calls on European countries to cut ties with the US and withdraw from Afghanistan. (The Times)